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Fiat first used the five-bar logo on the Uno in 1982, after Fiat design chief Mario Maioli - driving past the Mirafiori factory at night after a power cut - saw the giant FIAT logo on top of the plant, set against the fading light of the sky. He did a quick sketch - five bars represented the spaces he could see between the letters.
Fiat. (Italy) 1899 to date.
Giovanni Agnelli, Count Biscaretti di Ruflia and Count di Bricherasio headed the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, which started business by absorbing Ceirano, on whose payroll was the talented designed Faccioli who created the first Fiat car, with a horizontal twin-cylinder 3 hp engine.
When the directors insisted that Faccioli should design a new model with the engine at the front instead of at the back, Faccioli resigned, and was replaced by Enrico, who in 1902 brought out a 1.2 litre four-cylinder model which owed much to the recently introduced Mercedes.
The years up to 1914 saw a succession of four-cylinder models of between 1846cc and 10,082cc, as well as sixes of 7408cc and 11,034cc. However, Fiat (known as F.I.A.T. up to the end of 1906) did not essay a popular mass-produced model until 1912, when the 1846cc "Tipo Zero" was launched.
Post-war came the Cavalli-designed 501, with a four-cylinder 1.5 litre engine, of which more than 45,000 had been built by 1926. Alongside this, Fiat produced a very few examples of one of their few flops, the hyper-luxury V12 6.8 litre SuperFiat, of 1921-23; the 4.8 litre six-cylinder Tipo 519 was listed until 1929. In 1925 came a more modern light car, the 509, with an ohc 990cc engine, of which over 90,000 were sold up to 1929. The other principal models of the late l920s were the 1440cc Tipo 514, the 2516cc Tipo 521 and the 3740cc Tipo 525, the latter two being six-cylinder models.
A major step forward came in 1932, with the introduction of the Tipo 508 Ballila (named after a fascist youth organization), a 995cc ohv four developing 25 bhp in touring form, 36 bhp in its rare and desirable sporting form. It was license-built in Germany by NSU, in Czechoslovakia by Walter and in France by Simca (who also offered a very fast version tuned by Gordini). The backbone-framed 1500 of 1936, with its aerodynamic bodywork and Dubonnet-type ifs, led later that year to the immortal "Topolino" Tipo 500, with its four-cylinder 570cc engine mounted ahead of the radiator; this tiny two-seater continued almost unchanged until 1948.
At the outbreak of war, Fiat's best-selling models were the 500 and the 1100, or Millecento, while the biggest model then available was the 2852cc six. Little of novelty appeared in the immediate post-war years, until the advent of the over-square 1400 four-cylinder in 1950. The last of the Topolino, the ohv 500C, was replaced by the new 633cc rear-engined "600" in 1955; this unit-construction saloon sold a million by 1960.
A twin-cylinder "Nuova 500" appeared in 1957, with a 499cc ohv power unit. Over 3 million examples of this model were built before it gave way to the derivative 126 in 1972. In the same vein as the 500 and 600 was the 850, with a rear-mounted four-cylinder in-line engine. In 1966 came one of Fiat's most popular models, the 124, with engines of 1197cc and 1438cc, which formed the basis of big license-production deals, especially in Eastern Bloc countries. A dohc 1608cc four, the 125, appeared in 1967, alongside the 1481cc 1500L, the six-cylinder 1795cc 1800B and 2279cc 2300; the Dino Spyder and Coup? with the 1987cc Ferrari-built dohc Dino V6 had been launched in 1966.
In 1969 Fiat took over Lancia and Ferrari; Abarth was acquired in 1971. That year, Fiat launched the fwd 127, with a 903cc ohv transverse four (a 1049cc version is also available); the 128 is another fwd model, with 1116cc and 1290cc power units. The successor to the 124, the 131 Mirafiore, was available with 1297cc or 1585cc engines in various stages of tune. There was also a dohc 1995cc Abarth version,. with irs and a five-speed gearbox, developing 140 bhp and capable of reaching almost 145 mph in racing guise: A conventional "middle-class" car, the 132 had dohc four-cylinder power units of 1585cc and 1995cc: Fiat also introduced in 1973 a series-production mid-engined sports car, the X 1/9, with a 1290cc power unit and wedge-styling.
(Vintage European Automobiles)
2007 This new logo will be reproduced on the grill of all the commercial vehicles of the mark. In order to preserve the initial image of FIAT, the expression "Professional" was introduced into a gray band in lower part of the logo of origin. The gray band represents the metal coil used for personalization external of the dealers, and the red color symbolizes the spirit of the mark. With this logo, FIAT tries to give a more international image to its utility range.
(1999) Fiat vehicles will be adopting a new brand mark with the new Punto to be presented during July 1999 on the occasion of Fiat's hundredth anniversary.
This brand mark will be none other than the renowned round shield of the Twenties, featuring a band of laurels around a blue field on which the Fiat name stands out in silver.
A restyled version of this symbol will now be returning to grace the front grille of the 'centenary car', after which it will gradually be adopted by all Fiat models over a period of time. The same emblem, with the addition of the dates 1899-1999, will also form the logo for the company's hundredth anniversary celebrations.
Fiat is therefore looking to the future, to the global market on which is has for many years played a leading role, while at the same time keeping its identify and roots, symbolised in the new brand mark. Designed by the Fiat Style Centre, the emblem stands for 'change in continuity', a sign of the past reinterpreted in a modern light.
The round logo will replace the five bars that have given the Brand's cars a 'family feeling' since 1991 (the Cinquecento was the first car on which they appeared without being accompanied by the four cubes), which is to say the set of elements that makes each product a recognisable member of the Fiat 'family'. The Group's trademark - the famous emblem of four cubes slanting at 18 degrees - remains the same, and will continue to distinguish the back of each model as the Company's unmistakable signature.
The history of the 14 trademarks that have appeared on the radiator grilles of Fiat vehicles throughout these hundred years makes curious and sometimes fascinating reading. We shall tell their tale here, referring to the year in which each symbol was used as the Brand's unique 'family feeling' for the first time (source: Fiat).
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